Iron Man - The Second Stark
by SilverDragon00
Summary: Iron Man's story told from his child's point of view. The cover image is Tony Stark's daughter. HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

"Skylar?" Anthony Edward Stark called from the kitchen, where he currently was leaning against the bar with a beer in his hand. "Are you awake?"

Naturally, an ordinary fourteen year old girl would not be awake at 2:00 in the morning, but Skylar Rae Stark was not an ordinary anything.

"Yes I'm awake." A voice said from behind Tony.

Tony spun around, slightly startled, and his daughter stood on the other side of the counter, smiling mischievously at him.

"Pepper didn't make you go to bed?" Tony asked Skylar.

"Well of course she did, but who says I would ever listen?" Skylar said, jumping up to sit on the counter.

Tony laughed and walked over to rustle her hair. She resembled her mother, Maylee so much. She had brown hair, with hints of natural gold in it, dark blue eyes, a strong slender figure and pale skin. Maylee died giving birth to Skylar, so neither of them ever met.

"How did the award thing go?" Skylar asked.

Tony shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"Gambling or drinking?" Skylar asked.

"Both," Tony answered.

"As expected," Skylar nodded.

Tony laughed. "Go to bed."

Skylar sighed and hopped off the counter and walked towards the living room. She turned around. "Oh, Pepper told me to remind you that you plane leaves at seven in the morning tomorrow, so your ass better be outta here by six."

"Language, kiddo," Tony said with a smile. He personally didn't care how Skylar talked, but Pepper and Rhodes insisted that he doesn't let her swear.

Skylar stuck her tongue out at her dad and ran upstairs to her room.

Skylar had a strange personality. She was like her father in many ways, she was brilliant, mechanically inclined, witty, and clever, has a temper, and could win in any argument. Which is way it never ends well when Tony and Skylar argue.

Tony smiled remembering the last time they argued. It ended up with Skylar completely obliterating Tony's blue and white race car, using power tools and Tony smashing every window in the house.

Of course afterward, they laughed about it while Pepper and Rhodes worried that they had completely gone insane.

The next morning Skylar woke to the sound of a feminine voice calling "Tony?" Skylar walked to the banister, yawning and looked down into the living room. A blonde female was looking around wearing Tony's red dress shirt.

Skylar rolled her eyes. He dad probably picked this one up at the award ceremony. She sighed and walked down the stairs in her big AC DC shirt that she used as a nightgown. She on the bottom step of the stairs.

"He left earlier this morning." Skylar said lazily.

The blonde jumped and turned around. She sigh when she saw it was Skylar and fixed her own hair. "You must be Skylar Stark. It's nice to meet you." She held out a hand and Skylar unwillingly shook it.

The blonde continued to walked around and when she was the lighting control system on the wall she press a button on it.

"You are not authorized to access this area." A male robotic voice said.

"Jesus-" She jumped.

"That's JARVIS." Another voice said.

Skylar looked over and saw Pepper standing with clothing on a hanger.

"He runs the house. I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed and there's a car waiting outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go" Pepper said.

"And you must be the famous Pepper Potts." The blonde said, striding over to Pepper. Skylar didn't like that.

"Indeed I am."

"After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the laundry." She said cockily.

Pepper stayed calm and responded, "I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires" Pepper kept the smile on her face not letting any sign of irritation show. She was used to the women talking to her like this but she was not one to be put down so she added "Including occasionally taking out the trash. Will that be all?"

Skylar let out a burst of laugher, then tried to cover it up by coughing.

The blonde glared at Skylar then at Pepper, and stalked off to leave to house.

When she was gone, Skylar jumped over to Pepper and laughed. "Best come back ever!"

Pepper smiled. "You think so?"

"Defiantly," Skylar said, nodded.

It was silent and they could hear the faint sound of rock music playing.

Pepper's eyes widened.

Skylar gasped. "Is that-"

"I better not be," Pepper said, swiftly moving towards the basement that we called 'the shop.'

They went down the stairs and sure enough, Tony was working on one of his cars, not on the plane he should be on. Pepper entered the code to get in, and turned the music off.

"Please don't turn off me music," Tony said, not looking up.

"You're supposed to be half way around the world right now." Pepper said urgently.

"Well I though since it's my plane it would wait for me," Tony said.

"Dad, go get on you plane," Skylar said.

Tony stood up and wiped off his hands. "Then go get dressed."

"Why?"

"Because you're coming with me, of course." Tony said.

"Skylar you're not going with him," Pepper said.

"Sure I am!" Skylar said excitedly and raced up to her room. She hurriedly threw on some jeans, a Slipknot shirt and ran a brush through her hair. She raced back down stairs, pulling on her converse sneakers.

Tony was in the living room with Pepper, who was forcing him into a suit jacket and puling his tie on.

"Come on," Tony said, pulling his daughter with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Skylar stayed in the back of the plane reading most of the time. Her dad was riding in another section of the plane with Rhodes. Skylar had been excited to go with her dad, but now she realized that this was going to be really boring.

She looked at her phone to check the time. The plane had taken off at 9:35am exactly, and this was about a 15 hour flight, and it was only 11:14am. Skylar closed her book and sighed, looking out the window or the Stark Industries Plane.

She had only slept maybe four hours last night, so she decided to sleep.

Six hours later, Skylar woke up, hoping that they would be landing shortly. Checking her watch, she realized how wrong she was. She still had seven more hours of flight.

She made an oath right then that when her dad says, "your coming with me, of course," to not go with him. She was dying of boredom.

Finally, after what seemed like years, their plane landed. Skylar eagerly grabbed her bag, ready to get off the damn plane, and as soon as it was okay she booked it off the plane.

She and her dad were put into military trucks, to be driven to where the Jericho Missile demonstration would be.

Skylar waited from a distance with Rhodes, while her dad was talking to a group of military forces.

She watched as the Jericho missile moved to aim at the mountain range and then fired. She squinted up at it to see it break into parts and then she could no longer see it.

Then a huge explosion erupted from the mountains, sending a wave of wind and dust in their direction. The force was so strong, Tony was pushed forward a few steps.

Skylar smiled at this new accomplishment. She didn't like was it was going to be used for, but it was a pretty neat weapon.

Tony walked over to a cooler when it was over, and while a dozen people were asking him questions, he pulled a bottle of something and downed it in a couple of gulps.

Tony made his way over to Skylar, and put his hand on her head, "What do you think? Pretty impressive huh?"

Skylar shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about it, even though she thought it was great. "It's okay, I guess." She said.

Tony chuckled and ruffled her hair.

They headed over to the truck that would take them. Tony opened the door and Skylar got in follow by Tony himself. Rhodes came over, and Tony leaned out the window and said, "I'm sorry, this is the fun vehicle, you're not allowed."

Skylar laughed as Rhode said something to Tony.

Rhode looked at Skylar, "Want to come over to the normal vehicle?"

"I'm good," Skylar smiled and gave him double thumbs up.

Rhode smiled and shook his head, walking over to the truck he was riding in.

Skylar was sitting in the back seat with her dad and three other military personals were with them.

Music was loudly playing, but it was quiet. Skylar watched out the window of the car. There was much to see, except for the mountain in the distance.

Finally, Tony broke the silence, "What are you guys not allowed to talk? I feel like I'm be escorted to court, come on what'd I do?"

"Their intimidated by you, Sir." The female driver said.

"Good god, you're a woman." Tony said. Skylar elbowed him in the side. "I really couldn't tell. That some nice bone structure you've got."

This earned him a laugh from everyone in the car.

The soldier that was in the passenger seat of the car him hand.

"Are you kidding me?" Tony said. "You're raising your hand?"

"I, uh, I have a question, Sir." He said.

"Hit me."

"Is it true you…" He trailed off remembering Skylar was there. He then leaned over and asked Tony something Skylar couldn't hear.

Tony laughed and said something back.

The soldier in the backseat with Tony and Skylar said, "Could, um, could I get a picture with you?"

"Sure, why not?" Tony said.

The soldier smiled and handed a camera to the man in the front. The soldier and Tony leaned in so they could be in the shot. The soldier put up a peace sign.

"Please, no gang signs." Tony said.

The soldier quickly dropped his hand.

"I'm just kidding, throw it up." Tony laughed. "Yeah, peace, I love peace. I'd be out of business with peace."

"What button do I push?" The man in front asked.

"The silver one on top." The soldier said. "No, don't change the settings, just take the picture."

"I'm try-"

BOOM. There was a huge fiery explosion right outside the truck, cracking the widows and spinning the car off track.

Tony immediately pushed Skylar down from the windows. The soldiers in the front got out, yelling, "Stay here!"

The soldier in the back started to get out.

"Don't leave!" Skylar begged.

"Just stay down!" The soldier yelled and got out, slamming the door behind him. Something blew up in front of him, and he slumped.

Skylar's ears rang and everything spun. Tony grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the car. They ran behind a pile of rocks, and Tony saw an opening in the rocks, and he push Skylar under the pile, hoping it would be safe enough.

Skylar's head spun and she saw her dad pull out his phone. Something landed on the other side of the rocks and Tony looked at it for a second, before scrambling to get up. There was a high pitched noise, and Tony was flung away from the rocks.

Skylar screamed out, "Dad!" She couldn't see anything. She was aware of another explosion behind the pile of rocks that pushed her forward slightly, causing her to hit her head. The her vision went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony awoke to a bright light. He blinked his eyes a few times to adjust, then took in his surroundings. He was in a room with one light, and there were men all around him with guns. He was tied to a chair. He looked forward and saw a camera and two men behind it, saying something in a different language. Tony shook his hand, but stopped realizing how much his head actually hurt. His whole body was sore.

_Where am I? _He thought. He looked around again. _Where is Skylar?! Is she still under the rocks, or is she here somewhere?_

He panicked and tried to say something, but the only sound he made resembled a gasping noise.

He struggled against the ropes holding him to the chair, but then one of the men to his left hit him one the head with the butt of a gun. Tony's vision faltered and then went black.

* * *

Skylar heard foot steps. It wasn't like boots on tiled floor; it was more like an echo of feet on dirt. Skylar tried to open her eyes, and her head bobbed. She moved her head and stopped it from bobbing. She couldn't open her right eye, and she panicked for a moment, and then remembered she has smacked her face on a rock, and her eye was probably swollen shut. She looked around with her good eye.

She was in a room made of dirt; she assumed it was under ground. The air pressure was heavy; she realized she must be in some natural made cave. There was two light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, swaying back and forth, and a camera in the left corner of the room near the ceiling. She turned her head so she could see behind herself, and saw a grey metal door.

Her eyes widened when she realized that she was most likely being held captive.

Skylar was sitting in a wood chair in the middle of the room with her hands tied behind the chair.

_This is simple enough_, she thought. She rocked the chair backward so she fell on her back and the chair broke. She stood up, stumbling a bit, and then brought her hands as close to the ground as she could and stepped backwards, so her hands were now in front.

She examined the rope tying her hands. It was a basic rope, a little more than half an inch thick. She tried to chew through the ropes, but just ended up with bleeding gums and swollen wrists. She looked around for something to use. Maybe some how she could break a light bulb and use the glass. The ceiling was maybe eight feet high, but the light bulb hung down about two feet.

Skylar was five foot two, so maybe if she flipped backwards she could hit it with her foot? Rhodes had been teaching her martial arts since she was five, she bet she could do it. It would be difficult to do without using her hands for balance, but she would try anyways.

She backed up a few feet, then ran forwards, put her hand on the ground and kicked her feet in the air. She landed back on her feet, and turned to see if she got the bulb. No such luck. Skylar missed it by maybe four inches.

_Why did I have to break the chair?_ She asked herself. _I could have stood on it._

That gave her an idea. She picked up a broken chair leg, with her two tied hands and stood on her toes and jabbed at the bulb. She kept missing, since she could only use one eye to judge where is was, but eventually she hit it. The room got slightly darker, and glass rained down and cut up her arms, but she didn't care. She dropped to her knees, wincing as glass cut through her jeans and grabbed for the biggest piece of glass. She carefully cut the rope, catching her fingers and wrists a few times, and got the rope off. She sighed in relief, and then started to try and find a way out.

* * *

Tony woke with a start. He was laying on his back, on a hard surface. He looked to his left and was a bottle of something. He reached over tying to grab it, but felt a tugging on his chest.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A male voice said.

Tony looked up and there a man with his back turned, shaving in front of a makeshift mirror. Tony laid back again and saw a car battery on the table to his right. He followed the wire with his eyes and saw the wire led to his chest. He noticed there was gauze wrapped around him. He put his hand on the gauze and felt something hard underneath it. He frantically ripped the gauze open reviling a small black metal machine in his chest. He gasped and dropped his head back.

_What the hell?!_

"You like it?" The man said, sitting down next to Tony. "It's my handy work."

Tony slowly sat up. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"That stops the lead from getting to your heart," The man picked up a glass vial and handed it to Tony. It had small lead pieces in it. "We got out all we could, but there's still some left."

Tony shook his head. "Who are you?"

"My name is Yenzin, Mr. Stark," He said.

"Where are we?"

"We-" He started, but there was a banging on the metal door. Yenzin quickly stood up. "Get up, quick!"

Tony stood. "What's going on?"

"Just stay quiet and do as I do," Yenzin said, putting his hand on his head. Tony did so too, just as a group of men came in.

"_Mirë se vini, Z. Stark, në shtëpinë tuaj të re_!" The leader of the group said with a smile.

"What's he saying?" Tony asked Yenzin.

Yenzin looked at the man, and the man gestured to Tony nodding.

"He says 'welcome to your new home'" Yenzin translated.

"What do you want?" Tony asked.

Yenzin translated the question and the man replied, "_Unë dua që ju të na ndërtojë raketa_."

"He wants you to build the rocket." Yenzin said.

"The Jericho?"Tony said

"_Po, të ndërtuar më Jerikon_!" He said.

"He says yes." Yenzin told Tony.

"I won't." Tony said.

Yenzin translated.

The man glared at Tony, then walked over to a small black and white TV, which was on one of the tables. He clicked the power button and it flicker to life. He then stepped back for Tony to see.

Tony's eyes widened. He saw Skylar in a tiny 8 by 8 room. There was broken glass on the floor and a broken chair. Skylar had one of the chair legs and was pounding on the door to the room with it.

The man turned the dial to put the volume on. There was lots of static, but you could hear Skylar yelling. Every time she hit the door, there was a loud clang.

"Lets me out!" She screamed.

The door opened and she tried to run but she was shoved back into the room. She landed on her back, but quickly got back up.

"_Stop atë, ose unë do të xhiruar ju_!" The man in the room with Skylar yelled. He walked out again, but not before Skylar threw the chair leg at him and it hit his head. The man turned around and kicked Skylar in the stomach. She fell to her knees, holding her middle as the man left.

Tony looked away and squeezed his eyes shut.

The man turned the volume all the way down on the TV again and said something.

Yenzin translated, "He says, if you do not build the Jericho, she will be shot while you watch, and then so will you. If you cooperate and build it, she will be left alone. But the longer you take to build, the less food she will get."

Tony was silent for a moment then said, "Fine, I'll build it.'

Yenzin nodded at the man and the man smiled and started to leave. He said something else and Yenzin said. "He says all the materials you need will be brought to you."

The group of men walked out the door, and one of the men with a gun pointed at the TV, and said with a thick unidentifiable accent, "That is live."

Tony dropped to his knees and stared at the TV.

Skylar was sitting on the floor with her head in her hands.

Tony looked away again. If they want a weapon, they'll get one.


	4. Chapter 4

It's been a week. Tony had fixed the metal chunk in his chest, trading it for a miniaturized arc reactor. He constantly watched the TV while he was working, to make sure Skylar was okay. So far, she had only gotten a two loafs of bread and a canister, of what Tony hoped was water. Each time they gave her something, they would open the door and threw it onto the floor, and Skylar would either throw a piece of the broken chair at then, or would try to run. Once, she almost got out.

One man had come too far into the room and Skylar was waiting near the door frame, and she ran out of the room followed by the man. For a good two minutes nothing happened, but two men ended up tossing her back into the room.

Skylar was being smart about her food though. She managed to dig a small hole in the ground, at the far wall, but Tony could tell she hit rock or something, because she had stopped digging in it. But a while after, she started hiding her food in it. From what Tony could tell, she had half a loaf of bread left, and no water.

Tony was guilty; he was kept well fed, because they needed him. They only needed Skylar as motivation for Tony.

Tony and Yenzin were working on something different than the Jericho though. They were working on an armored suit that would get them out of here. They worked on it in parts of course, so no one could tell what it was.

* * *

A month later, they had finished half the suit in secret, while working on something that slightly resembled the Jericho, but wasn't powerful at all, and they would just end up using as a bomb to escape.

Tony also started to worry about Skylar. She had stopped fighting back after three weeks, and had stopped trying to escape not long after. She defiantly wasn't getting enough food either. She was fed maybe every three or four days, and even then wasn't fed enough to keep her healthy.

Tony sat in front of the screen now, and turned the volume on. Skylar wasn't making any noise, so all he could here was static from the bad signal.

Skylar was lying on the floor in the corner of the room, un-moving. Skylar did this often, mostly because she was getting weaker, but every time it happened, Tony was worried that she may die.

The door in Skylar's room creaked open, and something that looked like a canteen was thrown in.

For a moment, Skylar did nothing, and Tony silently prayed that she would get up and go drink from it. Then, ever so slowly, Skylar stood and walked over to the canteen, went she got to it, she reached down, but ended up just falling onto her hands and knees. She rolled onto her back, and opened the canteen, and poured it into her mouth.

Tony sighed in relief.

* * *

Skylar couldn't take this. Her stomach hurt, badly. She felt like her insides were tightening up, and eating away at her muscles. Her head swam, and it was hard to focus on anything. She still couldn't see out of her right eye, even though she was sure it was no longer swollen. It was hard to hear anything, and she was also tired, so very tired. Even though she slept, she was always so tired. She didn't understand. Why is she here? Does it have something to do with her dad? Would he come save her?

Or would she die here, by herself?

She rolled onto her side, dropping the canteen. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, and curled into a ball. Her stomach hurt so much, and it felt like her bones were paper. How long has she been here? A week? A month? Two months? She shut her eyes tight, and ended up sleeping again.

* * *

They lost track of days, but Tony guess it had been about two months, give or take. Tony had finished the helmet, legs, waist, hands and feet of the suit. All that's left is the chest, and weapons. He tried on one of the legs; Yenzin helped him put the leg on. He flexed and it worked pretty well.

Right after he had taken the suit leg off there was pounding on the door. Tony shoved the leg under table and kicked a cloth over it, putting his hands on his head.

A group of nine men came into the room, eight of them with guns, and the other looked like he was in charge.

The man stepped forward, looking around the room. "Relax," He said.

Tony and Yenzin slowly took their hand from their heads.

The man came over to Tony and looked at the arc reactor. "The bow and arrow," he said. "Was once the world's pinnacle of weapon's technology." The man wondered over to a work bench and picked up their scrambled suit planes. Tony tensed. "But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons, rules these lands." He put the papers down, and looked at Tony. "And soon, it will be my turn."

He looked at Yenzin, "_Pse keni dështuar mua_?"

"_Ne kemi qenë duke punuar. Me zell._" Yenzin responded.

"Unë ju lejojnë të jetojnë." He said, stalking over to Yenzin. "_Dhe kjo është se si ju të paguajë mua_?"

Yenzin took a step back. "_Është shumë e ndërlikuar. Ai është duke u përpjekur shumë e vështirë_."

The man scowled. "_Në gjunjë tuaj."_

Three men rushed over and pushed Yenzin to his knees, holding him down.

The man walked over the hot coal in the fire place, and picked one up with thongs. "_Ju mendoni se unë jam një budalla? Unë do të merrni të vërtetën_."

The men pushed Yenzin's head down onto a table and the man walked over with the coal.

"Open your mouth," he said. "_Më tregoni të vërtetën_!" He yelled

"What does he want?" Tony asked urgently.

"_Vërtetën!_" He yelled.

"_Ndërtimi i Jerikon_," Yenzin said.

"_Vërtetën!_"

"_Ndërtimi i Jerikon_!"

"What are you-"Tony stepped forward, and everyone with a gun in the room pointed at him and yelled.

Tony stopped and looked at the man with the coal piece. "I need him." He said. "An assistant."

The man snarled and set the coal piece down, walking to the door. He turned back and said, "You have one week, to assemble my missile." Then the whole group left Tony and Yenzin, locking the door behind them.

* * *

After four days, the suit was done. They hung it up at an angle the camera couldn't see. It had weapons on it, the metal was strong enough to be bullet proof, and best yet, it could fly.

"This is our ticket out of here," Tony said.

Yenzin was sitting over by the TV, finishing the leather that goes on the sides of the helmet.

"I have to say,' He said. "I am impressed."  
"Tomorrow," Tony said. "We get out of here tomorrow." He turned to Yenzin. "You remember the plan?"

Yenzin nodded. "It's the only thing on my mind."

Tony attached the hands onto the suit.

"What if this doesn't work?" Yenzin asked.

"It will," Tony assured him. Really he was trying assuring himself, but it didn't work.

"Stark!" Yenzin snapped.

Tony turned towards Yenzin. He was looking at the TV. Tony went over to him and looked at the TV.

"She just fell," Yenzin said with his eyes wide. "She was standing there, and she just dropped."

Tony stared at the screen, waiting for Skylar to pick herself back up. The door to the room slowly opened and a man with a gun came in. He slung the gun on his back and rolled Skylar over. The man blocked Skylar's face from the camera's view. He picked up Skylar's arm, holding her wrist. He dropped her arm and stood up, calling something out beyond the door.

Tony frantically turned the volume of the TV up, hoping they were speaking English so he could understand them.

Another man came into the room, and bent over Skylar. He also lifted her wrist, pressing his fingers on her veins.

He stood and said something to the other man. He shrugged, shaking his head and they walked out. One of them pointed at Skylar and yelled something out the door before leaving, and letting the door stay open.

Tony grabbed the TV. "No!" yelled. He looked at Yenzin. "What were they saying!"

Yenzin didn't say anything; he just kept staring at the TV.

"Tell me what they said! Please!" he begged. The great Tony Stark dropped to his knees on the verge of tears, begging for something. Apparently anything is possible.

Yenzin looked Tony in the eyes, and still said nothing. But Tony understood. He put his face in his hands, his eyes unbelieving.

He abruptly stood up. "Change of plans." He said his voice dull. "We are leaving now."

"But the suit isn't completely done yet," Yenzin started to protest.

"I don't care!" Tony said.

Yenzin and Tony finished hooking up the suit, and started powering it with the computer. Yenzin helped Tony into it. He was slightly suspended in the air.

Yenzin looked back at the computer. "Tell me was to do."

"Click on the button that says 1184637." Tony said.

"Okay,"

"Tell me when you see the loading bar."

"There is none," Yenzin said.

There was pounding on the door and shouting in some different language.

"Is there a loading bar?" Tony asked urgently.

"I-I, yes! It's there." Yenzin answered.

"Okay, hit control E." Tony said. "Now function eleven."

"Okay, it's going." Yenzin said.

"Now finish strapping this." Tony said.

Yenzin came over to Tony and started secreting the suit.

"Is the whole plan the same?" Yenzin asked

"Yes," Tony said.

"You still want to-" Yenzin started to refer to getting Skylar out of that cell.

"Yes," Tony snapped. "Nothing has changed."

People were still pounding on the door to get in.

Yenzin glanced at the computer. "It's done!" He said, just as the door broke down and blew up.

They could hear more people running to them.

Yenzin ran to pick up a gun that one of the men had dropped.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked him.

"I'm buying you some time!" Yenzin said, running out of the door.

"Stick to the plan!" Tony called to him.

The power in the room went completely out, powering up the suit. The suit dropped from where it was suspended.

Four men walked into the room warily. Tony stood in from of them, and then shot both of them with the gun built into his left arm. He walked down the hall made of dirt, looking for any type of room.

**A/N: I know there's a lot of time leaps in this chapter, but I think I got to the point. BTW, I'm leaving to Go to Washington DC on Monday and I can't bring my laptop, and I won't be back until Thursday, so I will either have to publish Chapter 5 really early on Monday morning, or it won't be published until late Thursday night. I'm sorry if it's not until Thursday, but I promise that I will try to have it out on Monday! Thanks for reviewing and giving favorites to my book! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Tony strode down the halls as people fired their guns at him. The bullets bounced off the metal with ease, and he swept through them, knocking them down or shooting them. He came to a metal door that was locked. He slammed his fists on it a few times and the door broke down. On the other side there were four men with guns. He took out the first one, but got his arm stuck in the dirt wall.

One man with a handgun came over, and tried to shoot Tony in the head, but the bullet bounced off the helmet and hit the man instead. Tony got his arm unstuck and took out the last two guys. The hall opened up to a larger room with bags of gun powder. The man from a few days ago was in the room with a small rocket. He fired it but missed. Tony fired one back, and it hit its mark. The man fell to the ground and rubble covered him from the walls.

Yenzin was lying unmoving on a pile of bags. Tony ran over and flipped his helmet off his face. Yenzin had been shot multiple times, and was slowly dying.

"C'mon, come on, we got a plan we have to stick to it," Tony said while Yenzin was shaking his head.

"This was always the plan, Stark," Yenzin choked out.

"You got to get up, you're going to see your family again," Tony told him.

Yenzin shook his head again. "My family is dead; I'm going to see them now." Yenzin gave a weak smile. "It's alright, I want this." He mumbles. "I want this."

Tony nodded slowly. "I understand."

"Tony Stark," He said, his voice growing faint. "Don't waste your life."

And then he died.

Tony's anger flared as he stood up. He made his way down the rest of the dirt hall, where he could see sunlight. A huge group of men was waiting for him outside, all of them with their guns up.

A moment after he stepped outside, they all started firing at him, but the bullets just bounced off the suit. After another moment they stopped.

"My turn," Tony said, starting the flame throwers he had built into both him arms. He burned down all their tents were they kept Stark Industries weapons, he burned all the people and all their cars.

Someone, the last person standing, started firing a machine gun at him. He walked over pulled the gun away, throwing it into the fire, then lift the man into the air.

"Where is she?" He growled.

The man whimpered and said something in another language.

"Show me where my kid is!" He yelled at the man. Tony dropped the man and picked up a gun, pointing it at him.

The man slowly back up, motioning for Tony to follow.

The man pointed to a grate in the ground.

"She's down there?" Tony asked him.

He man nodded, him hand still in the air.

Tony shot him in the face.

He pulled the grate off the opening and dropped down inside. There was a straight one way hallway made of dirt, with an open door at the end of it.

Tony hesitated, and then ran to the door.

Skylar was lying on the floor in the room, her face looking up at the ceiling, her eyes open and dull.

Tony ran over to her and dropped to his knees. He carefully lifted her head, and felt for a pulse. He couldn't feel anything with the leather that covered his hands, and couldn't get the leather off.

He picked Skylar's frail body up, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her neck. She hung limply in his arms. Tony walked down the hall way, and then started the engine on his suit that would let him fly. He shot up in to the air, Skylar in his arms. He held her tight as he flew across the desert.

* * *

At some point the engine started to sputter and then stopped altogether. He plunged toward the ground, trying to start it again. He turned so that when he landed it was on the metal of the suit. He landed hard in the dirt, most of the suit blowing off of him. He yanked off the helmet of the suit and sighed.

Skylar was in his lap, her eyes closed. He watched her for a second, and then she made a noise.

Tony sat up. "Skylar?" He said. Her pulled her off his lap, and kneeled next to her. He quickly pulled off the rest of the suit, and then put his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse again. He had to wait a minute, but very, very faintly he could feel a heartbeat. He pulled Skylar into a hug, mumbling. "Thank god."

He put his hand on her mouth to check for breathing, and small puffs of breath lightly hit his hand.

"Skylar," He said, trying to wake her up. "Skylar, come on, wake up."

She moaned and turned her head slightly, then cracked her eyes open. "Daddy?" she said, her voice dull and dry.

"Skylar, I'm here," He said smiling.

"Good," she mumbled, her eyes closing again. "I waited for you."

Tony's eyes swelled with tears as he picked his child up, carrying her that same way he did before. Then he started to walk.

He walked and walked and walked.

* * *

It grew dark, and got cold. He held Skylar tight, trying to keep her from getting too cold. He walked all night and until about noon the next day.

That was when he saw the helicopter. He balanced Skylar in one arm, holding her to him so she wouldn't fall as her feet touched the ground.

He lifted his other hand, waving and yelling. The helicopter circled around, heading towards Tony and Skylar. Tony dropped to his knees, Skylar across his lap, as he held up a peace sign.

The helicopter landed, and Rhodes and a few other soldiers ran over to Tony and Skylar.

Rhodes hugged Tony and said sarcastically, "How was the fun V?" He looked at unconscious Skylar, and said to Tony, "Next time you ride with me, okay?"

Tony nodded.

* * *

They got into the helicopter, and Rhodes helped Tony lay Skylar across the bench. She was a wreck. Her skin was deathly pale, her eyes were sunken, with dark circles around them, you could see that she lost about ten pounds; she had ripped her pant legs off at the knees and used strips of the cloth to wrap around her wrists. Tony carefully pulled the cloth off her wrists, revealing raw red skin that was bruised.

"What the hell happed over there?" Rhodes asked Tony.

"They used Skylar as motivation to get me to work," He said. "They wanted me to build the Jericho. I didn't don't worry." He said when Rhodes' eyes widened. "They kept her in an underground room and barely fed her, that why she looks like this."

Rhodes lifted one of her wrists and examined it. "This is going to leave a scar." He said.

"That's from the ropes."

They both looked at Skylar, she had her eyes open, but was looking at the floor. "I had ropes on my wrists and I cut them off with glass." She said quietly.

Tony kneeled down to be eye level with her.

Rhodes could see both of them were visibly shaken.

Skylar closed her eyes again and Tony stood. He was unsteady on his feet. Rhodes finally noticed the glowing circle on Tony's chest.

"What the hell is that?" Rhodes asked.

Tony pulled his own shirt collar down, showing the miniature arc reactor. "It's an electro magnet. It keeps the lead from getting to my heart."

Rhodes ran his hand over his head. "Jesus…"

* * *

The first thing they did, before letting anyone know they found the two Starks, was take them to a hospital. The hospital was in Ohio, so they still had to take a plane to get to California.

Tony insisted that he was fine and that Skylar needed to be taken care of. A doctor took Skylar into an emergency room. Rhodes got clothing for Tony and Skylar, and while they were waiting, Tony was able to take a shower and change.

They waited at least two hours, and then the doctor came out saying she was conscious enough to shower, and took her clothes in for her.

Another half hour later, and a nurse came out, to Rhodes and Tony and said, "She will be fine."

Tony almost dropped to the ground crying right there.

And then the nurse said, "But-"

She continued. "She is blind in her right eye and deaf in her right ear."

"Are there any other physical damages?" Rhodes asked.

"Well, she is defiantly malnourished, and has developed anemia from it, but other than that, really it's just the shock of what happened." The nurse told him.

"Can she come out now?" Tony asked.

"Yes, the doctor will send her out any second now." The nurse said, and then left.

A moment later, the doctor walked out with Skylar in front of him, he had his hands on her shoulders, steadying her as she walked. She was wear tight light blue jeans and a black button down, with sneakers.

She pulled away from the doctor and ran over to Tony, hugging him.

Tony didn't realize before the dull grey color that her right eye was, compared to her ocean blue one on the left.

On the plane back to California, not much was said. They had gotten something for Skylar and Tony to eat, but Skylar only took a few bites before refusing to eat anymore.

* * *

Finally, the plane landed, and Pepper and Happy were waiting right outside the plane.

**A/N: Wow! I can't believe I got this out tonight! Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed or too dramatic, but I was in a hurry to get it done. BTW, anemia is a disorder that means you don't have enough iron in your body. (See what I did there? Iron? Iron man? Yes? No? Okay.) Tell me what you think so far, and sorry, but the next chapter won't be out until Friday because, as i said, I am going to Washington DC this week. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I am really sorry about how short this chapter is going to be, I just got back from Washington DC last night and I am sooo tired. This chapter is so short it is sad, and I'm sorry about that, but I hope you enjoy it anyways, and I will try to get back to publishing one chapter a day.**

Stark woke Skylar up when the plane rolled to a stop. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her up. He could feel her boney shoulder through her shirt, it concerned him. Tony was unstable on his feet, so Tony leaned on Rhodes for support. Tony and Rhodes exited the plane with Skylar following them.

Skylar could see Pepper wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Skylar looked up at her dad, who was wearing a fake sling to help hide the arc reactor of his chest. Tony waved off a wheel chair, and then strode over to Pepper, Skylar at his side.

Tony smirked at Pepper and said, "Your eyes are red, tears for your long lost boss?"

Pepper laughed, "Tears of joy, I hate job hunting."

Pepper noticed Skylar standing behind Tony, holding her hands over her eyes to black the sun.

Pepper pulled Skylar to her, in a hug. "I missed you so much." Pepper rested her chin on Skylar's head. Pepper could feel how boney Skylar was, signaling malnourishment, and how pale her skin was. Pepper held Skylar at arm length, scanning her head to toe.

There was something differ about Skylar's right eye, it was pale and seemed unfocused.

Tony cleared his throat and pulled Pepper a few feet away from Skylar. He said something in a low voice to Pepper, and Pepper's face showed shock as she looked over to Skylar.

* * *

Eventually, they were sitting in the back of a black car, Skylar in the middle of Tony who was on the right and Pepper who was on the left.

"Take us to the hospital," Pepper directed the driver.

"We are fine," Tony said. "We just got back, and I don't know about Skylar but I don't want to go to a hospital, there are only two things I want right know and the first is an American cheeseburger," he said. "And the second-"

"That's enough," Pepper said.

"-Is not what you think it is," Tony said. "I want you to call a press conference."

"A press conference?" Pepper asked, confused.

"Go," Tony said to the driver. "Cheese burger first."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I hope this chapter makes up for the last one... :/**

The car pulled up to the curb where a crowd of people were waiting. Obadiah walked over to the car and opened the door with a smile on his face. Tony swiftly got out of the car, grabbing his last burger, and Skylar and Pepper followed him.

"You're supposed to be at the hospital," Obadiah said to Tony.

Tony shook his head, "No I'm not," he said.

"You get me one of those?" Obadiah gestured to the cheese burger as they walked inside.

"Nope," Tony said, popping the P.

As Tony entered the room where the press conference would be held, the crowd burst into clapping. Pepper and Skylar stood to the side of the room.

A man in a black suit walked up to Pepper and said, "Ms. Potts may I speak with you for a moment?"

"I'm not with the press conference but it will begin in a moment," Pepper told him.

"I'm not a reporter." He told her. "I'm agent Phil Colsen with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistic Division." He held out a business card.

Skylar grabbed it and looked it over, then gave it back to Pepper.

"That's quite a mouth full," Pepper commented.

"I know, we're working on it." He replied simply.

"We've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA,-" Pepper started.

'We are a division with a more specific focus; we need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape." Agent Colsen said.

The conference was about to start, and Pepper said, "I'll put something in the book, shall I?"

"Thank you," Colsen said before wandering off.

Obadiah was trying to start the conference, but Tony was sitting on the floor in front of the podium.

Tony motioned to the crowd. "Would it be okay for everyone to just sit down? That way you can see me, and it's a little less formal." He took another bite out of his cheeseburger as the crowd slowly and hesitantly sat on the floor.

Rhodes came over to Pepper and Skylar and said in a low voice, "What up with this?"

"Don't look at me," Pepper said. "I have no idea what he's up to."

Rhodes saw Skylar and put a hand on her head. "Hey kid," He whispered.

Skylar gave him a small tiered smile.

At the front of the room, Tony looked at Obadiah and said, "You know, I never got to say goodbye to dad." Then he looked at the crowd. "I never got to say goodbye to my father."

Tony looked around for a minute. "There were questions I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company does, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts." Tony said. "Or maybe he was the man we all remember from the news papers."

Tony looked lost in thought for a moment. Then he continued, "I saw young Americans killed with the very weapon that I created to defend them and protect them." He said. "And I saw that I had become part of a system that was comfortable with zero accountably."

A few people in the room asked, "Mr. Stark?"

Tony pointed to a man in the second row. "Yeah," He said.

The man said, "What happened over there?" It was the big question that everyone wanted to know. Tony looked at Skylar's solemn face, at Pepper, at Rhodes. He didn't really want to explain.

He stood up saying, "I- uh, I had my eyes opened. I came to realized that I have more to offer this world, then just making things to blow up." He continued quickly, "And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing business-"

He voice was drowned out as Obadiah pulled Tony away from the podium, and the crowd stood up with hundreds of questions.

Pepper's eyes widened, wondering if he actually just said that.

Tony walked away from the podium as Obadiah tried to close the meeting.

* * *

Tony told Pepper to take Skylar home, and had Happy drive him to the large arc reactor that was below his factory.

When the driver pulled up to The Stark household at Malibu Point, Pepper and Skylar got out and went inside.

JARVIS' voice sounded through the whole house. "Welcome back, Ms. Stark, Mrs. Potts."

Skylar sat on one of the bar stools as Pepper shuffled around, doing who knows what. Finally Pepper took a breath and looked at Skylar. "He has no idea what he just did." Pepper said, referring to Tony.

Skylar shrugged.

Pepper walked over to her. "Are you okay?" She asked Skylar. "You haven't said anything since you've gotten back."

Skylar shrugged and gave her a small smile.

"Are you hungry?" Pepper said, the thinness of Skylar was bothering her.

Skylar nodded.

Pepper fixed Skylar some lunch, and sat with her as she ate. She didn't eat much, probably because her stomach had closed up quite a bit, but Pepper told herself she would help Skylar get back on a normal eating schedule.

Skylar didn't look very healthy at all, but Pepper didn't say anything. She noticed that was Skylar moved, her movements was kind of jerky, and unstable. Pepper wanted to ask what had happened, but she knew Tony would tell her eventually.

* * *

Tony came home fairly quickly.

He went over to Skylar, who was still sitting on the bar stool, lost in thoughts.

"How you holding up, kid?" He asked, rustling her hair.

She shrugged.

He looked into her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her seriously.

She nodded, not keeping his gaze.

Tony sighed and walked downstairs to his workshop, and Skylar decided to follow him.

Tony began messing with the arc reactor on his chest, running it through scans and checking on the metal keeping it together.

Skylar put a hand in front of her face. She closed her right eye and could see it still. She closed her left eye, and everything went black. She knew that she lost vision in her right eye, but it was strange. It was like walking around with your hand over your right eye. She could only see half a field of vision. She snapped her fingers next to her left ear, and heard the rubbery click of her fingers. She did the same with her right, but heard nothing. She sighed.

She looked over the glass cases that had her dad's alcohol in it. Skylar remembered Tony once said that alcohol helps him forget stress, and relax. She looked to make sure her dad wasn't looking, and ran over, opening the door quietly. She grabbed a random bottle, and uncorked it, and gulped it down greedily. The liquid was spicy at first, but fizzed and settled in her stomach nicely.

"Um, Sir?" JARVIS said.

"Hmm?" Tony said, looked at the results from his arc reactor scan.

"You might want to get Ms. Stark away from that." JARVIS replay, giving no farther explanation.

Tony turned around, eyebrows raised. He saw Skylar, her back to him, with her head tilted back and a bottle of scotch pressed to her lips.

He rushed over to her and pulled it out of her hands. Skylar wiped her mouth.

Tony examined the bottle. "Skylar you drank more than half of this!" he exclaimed, looked at his daughter.

She hiccupped and rolled her eyes, stumbling back a few steps. Tony sighed and put the bottle on the counter, then picked Skylar up, bridal style. He carried her up the stairs and found Pepper.

Pepper saw Skylar's flushed face and her bobbing around as she looked at the back of her hand aimlessly.

Pepper gasped. "You let her drink!" Pepper took Skylar into her arms.

"She got into the liquor without me noticing," Tony sighed.

"She's depressed, what else do you think she would do, with _you _being her father!" Pepper said.

"Just… please take her upstairs." Tony asked Pepper. Pepper sighed and carried Skylar up to the fourteen year olds room.

She had only been in Skylar's room a few times, a couple of years ago. Skylar had a white carpet, with white walls, but it was hard to tell because Skylar had painted all over the walls. She drew on the walls; she wrote on the walls, she even had painted a picture of Tony and Pepper. She was defiantly gifted at painting. Her bed sheets were branded with bands, the back of her bedroom door and the bathroom door had posters all over them, and her ceiling had posters as well. It was almost impossible to tell if the walls actually were white or not.

Pepper sat Skylar on her bed, and looked him her eyes. Skylar beamed. Pepper said, "You have to stay here for a while okay?" She didn't want Skylar to hurt herself.

Skylar nodded, her head swaying back and forth.

Pepper sighed as she left the room, she couldn't believe Tony had let his fourteen year old daughter get drunk.

**A/N: Sorry if it is taking a while to get these chapters out, I really feel bad that I am taking so long. I'm having ideas for other fanfictions too. Do you guys think that I should finish this one before I start another, or should I write two at a time? I would alternate. when I get bored with one, I will work on the other and vise versa.) Tell me what you think! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Sorry for long wait, and welcome to chapter eight!**

Once Pepper got back downstairs, her tablet that was on the table beeped. She walked over to it as Tony's voice sounded from it.

"Pepper. How big are your hands?" He asked.

She picked up the tablet. "What?" Pepper asked in confusion.

"How big are your hands?" he repeated.

Pepper hesitated. "I don't understand…w-"

"Get down here, I need you." He said, and then ended the call.

She sighed and put the tablet on a table and then walked down to Tony's workshop.

She entered the code and walked in. Tony was laying on a reclined chair with his shirt off, wired were hooked up from his chest to machines and he was holding an arc reactor, while one was still on his chest.

"Lemme see your hands," He said. "Hold 'em up."

Pepper put her hands up as if a cop was pointing a gun at her.

"Oh wow," Tony said. "They are small."

Pepper walked over to Tony and looked at the glowing circle in his chest, which he called the arc reactor. "Oh my god," She said, "Is that the think keeping you alive?" She gapped at it.

"_Was_ keeping me alive," He said. "Now it is just an antique." He held up the reactor in his hand. "This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future." He told her.

"Wh-" Pepper started, but Tony interrupted her.

"I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, but I ran into a little sped bump." He said.

"Speed bump?" Pepper said. "W-what does that mean?"

"It's nothing," Tony said. "Just a little snag." He lifted the arc reactor out of his chest. "There's an exposed wire, under this device." He explained. "It's connecting to the socket was and is causing a little bit of a short." He yanked on the reactor and it popped out along with the wires. Tony handed it to Pepper.

"Wh-what do you want me to do?" She took it from him.

"Put it on that table over there," He said, nodding to a table to his right. "That is irrelevant."

"Oh my god…" pepper said, setting it down.

"I want you to reach in," He said, referring to the socket. "And you're just going to gently lift the wire out.

"Is it safe?" Pepper asked, starring at the hole in Tony's chest.

"Yeah, it should be fine," he assured her. "It's like operation, you just don't let it touch the socket wall, or it goes 'beep'." He told her.

"What do you mean, 'operation'?" She asked.

She was trying to delay this.

"It's just a game, never mind." He said. "Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great." He said and she moved her hand towards his chest.

"Okay." She said. She hissed and pulled her hand back. "You know, I don't think I'm qualified to do this."

"No, you fine." Tony said. "You are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met." He told her. "You're gonna do great."

Pepper sighed and reached into the homing for the arc reactor, squeezing her eyes shut. There was a gooey substance at the bottom and she recoiled, but didn't' take her hand out. "Oh, there pus!" She whined.

"It's not pus," Tony said. "It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body."

Pepper whined again. "It smells!" She said.

"Yeah it does."

After several more minutes, Pepper finally managed to switch the devices.

She sighed and looked at Tony, who was laughing at her distress. "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." She said with a weak laugh.

"I don't have anybody but you and Skylar," Tony said.

**A/N: So I am going to take a break from this fandom, because I am having a few ideas other fanfictions! Don't worry, I will come back to this one, that next chapter will hopefully be out on July 20th.**


	9. Chapter 9

There was a moment of awkward silence before Tony smiled and jumped up. "Anyway," he said.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked, holding up the old reactor.

"That?" Tony said. "Throw it away, destroy it incinerate it, I no longer need it."

"You don't want to keep it?" Pepper asked timidly.

Tony sighed. "I have been called many things, and nostalgic is not one of them."

Pepper looked at the old reactor then back at Tony. "Will that be all Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, thank you Mrs. Potts." Tony said before turning around and instructing his robot to clean up his desk.

* * *

[_Two Days Later]_

Skylar sat on the steps that lead down to her father's workspace, watching him talk to Jarvis while looking over something on the computer screen. Tony did not know Skylar was watching, but he would soon find out.

She watched as he dragged an image across the computer screen to a table next to his desk. A holographic image of the suit Tony had used to save them appeared. His got up and started to inspect it.

Skylar chose this moment to walk into the workshop. She stood behind Tony for a moment, watching what he was doing, and then walked over to the computer, starling Tony, and typed something in then looked back at the holograph.

Thinner version of the suit was there now, minus the heavy metal and a few unneeded accessories.

Tony took a second to look at it, and then said, "Hey, that's a good idea."

Skylar smiled slightly.

So, everyday from then on, Skylar and Tony sat in the workshop, trying to make a more powerful version of the first one. Skylar still didn't really talk, but she had a way of showing the ideas that she had. Which, to be honest were quite brilliant. She had come up with the idea of having JARVIS programmed into the suit, so he could monitor it; she also suggested that they somehow deal with the icing problem if it flew up to high, and that there should be a targeting system for landing and firing.

So far they had the boots done, with would help Tony fly. After Tony tested it for the first time, and failed dramatically, Skylar suggested flight stabilizers on his hands.

Tony laughed and ruffled her hair saying, "You couldn't have said something before?"

Skylar just smirked and raised an eyebrow.

She wasn't able to help all that much with building the suit, because of her one dead eye, but she did as much as she could.

* * *

Skylar was sitting at a stool near one of the tables in the shop, while Tony was putting on one of the flight stabilizers.

Pepper came down and Tony chose that moment to test the stabilizer. And it ended up sending him flying backwards across the room.

"I did not expect that." He said, trying to get up.

And for the first time in weeks, Skylar let out a burst of laughter.

Pepper smiled at Skylar before looking over at Tony and saying, "Obadiah is upstairs, he wants to talk to you."

**Yes, I know this is still really short, but I've lost my inspiration for this story because there are only like three people reading it. But for those few people who are reading it, I will continue until it is finished, but updates are probably going to be slow. So I will TRY to update every Saturday, but no promises.**


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